


This Summer Night

by redyarns



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Gajevy - Freeform, Gruvia - Freeform, Lucy loves Natsu, M/M, Nalu - Freeform, Natsu loves Lucy, Protective Lucy Heartfilia, Protective Natsu Dragneel, Slow Burn, Sort Of, With A Twist, and freaking hates it lol, but not in a bad way, dragon and princess au, dragons are possessive, jerza - Freeform, like a lot, love at first sight? kind of, lucy is the princess and heir of fiore, not really - Freeform, so natsu "kidnaps" her
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 11:30:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16701703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redyarns/pseuds/redyarns
Summary: They made a grave mistake taking her from him. He was a dragon, and dragons were greedy, selfish creatures - they would pay for making her cry, for making her reach for him with those wide, tear-filled eyes while begging for them to let her go. She was his treasure, his everything; and he was going to burn their kingdom to ashes.





	1. Chapter 1

Princess Lucy Heartfilia was a name well adored, known, and celebrated throughout the vast kingdom of Fiore. She was beautiful, elegant, poised, graceful - she wore the most intricate and detailed dresses, ate only the finest foods prepared by the finest chefs, and was gifted with many riches and jewels that were handcrafted by master forgers.

 

Princess Lucy Heartfilia was beautiful, loved, and perfect for the throne.

 

Princess Lucy Heartfilia was beautiful, loved, and alone.

 

Lucy, a girl with blond hair who loved the stars and smell of books, was just a girl with no friends nor freedom, and also who she desperately wished she could be without the weight of a crown on her head.

 

Princess Lucy Heartfilia and Lucy hated all of it.

 

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

 

She was silent as the carriage was drawn with control and care by Capricorn, the wheels turning smoothly against the dirt road and bumping only slightly whenever a rock or stone hit the wood.

 

The heat of the late summer afternoon was enough to make her want to rip off the heavy and lazy layers of her dress, her skin sticky with sweat and her head aching harshly from the actual pain of having to stay in the small confined space while the sweltering air pushed at her from all sides.

 

But she merely gazed forward, lips relaxed as well as her brows, and she kept lightly blowing air at her face with her white fan, never going beyond the gentlest of flutters and the smallest flicks of her wrist. Her hands, trapped in white gloves, were sweaty and gross, but she didn’t throw them off and chuck them out the window like she wanted to.

 

Her feet ached from being trapped in such tightly made shoes for so long, her collarbone pooled with sweat, and she was _so_ tempted to reach over and scream for Capricorn to stop for god’s sake so she could go jump in a river to cool off, but she didn’t because _that wasn’t what a proper princess would do, Lucy._

 

Yeah, right.

 

She was about ready to rip this dress off and go stalk off into the woods all by herself, because being a princess, for a lack of better word, _sucked._ If Aquarius ever heard her say such an informal and childish word, she would’ve had her hands slapped with the  ruler by now.

 

Lucy resisted the urge to whine.

 

She just wanted a _break_! It was _so_ hot. As in she felt like she was about to melt, and holy god she could feel her sanity dripping away with each second. This damned duke or noble (she hadn’t been paying attention when her father had told her about her betrothed) better have some kind of water for her as soon as she arrived, because if he didn’t then Lucy would deck him.

 

She hadn’t badgered Loke (“My name is Leo, my princess!” “No. You’re Loke. Now come play tea set with me.” “... yes, your highness.”) for those secret sparring lessons for nothing.

 

Just as she was about to scream and actually punch the door of the carriage open, it stopped.

 

Loke was immediately on alert, his arm protectively darting out and hovering in front of Lucy’s face as he called out, “Capricorn! Why’d you - “

 

This time, Lucy _did_ scream, only out of shock and her sudden spike of fear. The very earth shook, rattling the carriage and those who waited inside, and Loke made a movement towards her, reaching for her arms and waist so he could carry her outside -

 

Except the ground boomed, coming alive, and the carriage overturned, Lucy holding desperately onto Loke as he tried to take most of the impact.

 

The carriage stilled, and the princess grabbed onto her guardian with wild hands and a desperate voice. “Loke! Loke, are you okay? Oh my god, please don’t be hurt - “

 

He was out cold, head having smashed against the wall of the carriage and knocking him out entirely.

 

Lucy tried to crawl across the top of the carriage as she reached for the door, but grunted in annoyance as her dress, with its many flowy layers and incredibly heavy from the expensive fabric, refused to let her even so much as wiggle her way across. Hissing in frustration, she scrambled for the bodice, and after a moment of struggle, the beautiful fabric gave away and she managed to shove off the dress until she was only left in her under dress.

 

She breathed a sigh of relief, because she felt both cooled down and could now also grab Loke’s arm and drag him with her to the door.

 

She inspected it, and with a good kick (Aquarius had also given her secret fighting lessons - well, all of Lucy’s personal staff did, actually), the damaged door gave away.

 

Lucy stumbled outside, pulling Loke with her, and she gave out a soft cry as she realized Capricorn was knocked out as well, collapsed on the ground while the rise and fall of his chest indicated that he was still alive.

 

Shakily, she dragged Loke next to him, and went back to fetch the remaining tatters of her dress. Not feeling any remorse for the once beautiful outfit, she laid the ruffles and layers across them gently, hoping that they could provide some sort of protection once night came.

 

It was clear they wouldn’t be up and walking anytime soon.

 

Lucy stood up, and she almost laughed hysterically at the thought of what she looked like - dress in tatters, her only clothing being now the thin, white under dress, her hair definitely messed up, and her gloves shoved off as soon as she could. She probably looked like a commoner, and she had no qualms about it.

 

Lucy pressed a kiss to Loke and Capricorn’s foreheads. “Please stay safe.”

 

She would leave and go seek help, because she knew she couldn’t stay here. Even if she did, she couldn’t guarantee them protection - she was one girl against everything else, and if she did her math correctly, the nearest village should only be an hour away by foot. If she went quickly and came back on horse, she was sure she could find help for her two companions.

 

So the princess gathered her wits, and with slightly shaky knees, she headed towards the west where they had been going in the first place.

 

It inevitable that this would work.

 

It was also inevitable that she would get lost.

 

“Oh, god,” Lucy whined as she leaned against a tree, slumping against the wood and letting it take most of her weight. She glared at her feet where the delicate and now excruciatingly painful slippers sat - she was sure that she had many blisters by this point. She ripped them off and chucked them away into the bushes and leaves, satisfied that she would never see those godforsaken things again.

 

Now.

 

Where the hell was she?

 

Lucy squinted around her, trying to gather where the heck she had stumbled to - obviously she had accidentally taken the wrong turn at one point, because she couldn’t even see the path anymore.

 

At this point, she wanted to turn back, but what if she only got more lost? She looked up at the setting sun and thought to herself that Loke and Capricorn should definitely be awake by this point - they were incredibly strong individuals, and also were definitely panicking about her.

 

She inwardly winced. Maybe it hadn’t been the best idea to leave them, after all, but she trusted them. She knew they wouldn’t make a dumb decision like she did, and they were most likely off to the village in search of her. Even if she wasn’t there, maybe if she kept walking, she could find her way eventually and meet up with them.

 

It was the only option that didn’t involve her kneeling over and crying into the earth, so she took a deep breath and continued, clinging more and more to the trees as the night fell and the moon became her only source of light.

 

Lucy sighed as she continued, her regret growing with each second. She _really_ shouldn’t have left them behind, but honestly she had panicked. Nothing like this had ever happened to her, especially with the ground shaking like it did. She still honestly had no idea what happened, but that didn’t concern her. What she _was_ worried about was the state of Loke and Capricorn’s heads, and also her father’s reaction.

 

King Jude was not a kind man, and it was inevitable that she would be punished for running off.

 

Lucy bit her lip and cast off the thought, because she had no time to worry about her father. Instead, she blinked, and she could suddenly see something.

 

Well, that was an exaggeration - in truth, she could only see a faint golden glow, flickering in the distance and casting dancing shadows across the leaves of the trees, but she knew what it was. Fire. And fire meant people.

 

Quickly, she stumbled to its direction, tripping several times across roots and sticks that she didn’t see, her eyes only for the growing glow of the fire that she was getting closer to.

 

It was just beyond this bush now! She eagerly pushed past it, gaining a multitude of scratches, but it was there. In front of her was a large and beautiful flame, flickering and entrancing her with its dance, and though the day had been hot, the night was colder, so she was grateful for its warmth against her bare arms. The under dress was thin and not good against the chill.

 

She crept closer, craving its warmth, and reached out a hand, wanting to feel it better.

 

There was a great huff of warm air against her back, and she froze.

 

The smell of smoke wafted through the air, not having anything to do with the fire in front of her.

 

There was the quiet breathing of something large and alive.

 

A shadow far bigger than her loomed through the trees, blocking against the fire’s light.

 

She looked up.

 

And then screamed.

 

A dragon stood behind her, arching its neck to look down upon her, its dark eyes sharp and glowing as the fire reflected against it, the pupils large slits. It was large and tall, bigger than anything she had ever seen before. Its paw (paw?) had gigantic hook-like claws at the end, curving down and into the earth - they terrified her.  _It_ terrified her. She was smaller than a single claw, and she knew that with one wrong move, she could be crushed or sliced with a mere twitch of its wrist.

 

Its scales were a gleaming pink, looking somehow both smooth and rough at the same time, and if this were any other time, she would have laughed. The notion of a pink dragon should have been hilarious, but right now, she could only be terrified. Its horns were dark and curled out, and it seemed to be just as frozen as her, its lips pulled back in a half-growl, revealing teeth that could crush rocks and stone easily with a single snap.

 

It was… beautiful. But it could also kill her if it stepped somewhere wrong, so she could only scream even more.

 

“Oh god, oh god!” She yelped, and tried to desperately scramble back, only to stop when she felt something block her.

 

She froze at the feeling of scales rubbing against her bare back.

 

“Yeesh!”

 

She looked up.

 

“You almost stepped into the fire, weirdo. I dunno what it is with you humans, but don’t you all know it isn’t good for you?”

 

She gaped.

 

“I mean,” the dragon continued, its voice too _young_ and _boyish_ for something so beastly. It sounded _human_. “I know fire’s awesome and stuff, and it doesn’t hurt dragons, but it still hurts mortals.”

 

It squinted at her, and suddenly it grinned, lips sharply pulling up into a goofy and smile. “You’re such a weirdo human.”

 

She felt her face go pink at the jab, and god help her, but she couldn’t stop herself as she yelled, “my name is _Lucy_!”

 

It tipped its head to the side. “Luigi?”

 

“ _Lucy_!”

 

“Geeze, easy on the ears, Luigi,” the dragon grumbled, flipping an ear indignantly in her direction. She couldn’t help but feel offended.

 

What on earth was this _really weird_ dragon even doing? Wasn’t he supposed to, say, eat her? She’s heard of dragons, after all, and had received plenty of warnings from both the staff and her father. Royal families were familiar with the workings of a dragon and their tendencies to, er, _kidnap_ princes and princesses, so why wasn’t this one doing anything?

 

Anything aside from insulting her, anyway.

 

(How the hell does someone mistake Lucy for Luigi?)

 

“Well,” she said cautiously, because heck this thing was still a towering beast that could most definitely kill her if she made even the slightest mistake, “what’s your name?”

 

“Name?” It - _he_ \- said.

 

“Your name,” She repeated.

 

He seemed to think for a moment, and even tapped his claws against the ground in thought. Finally, he answered, “I don’t know.”

 

She blinked.

 

“Guess I don’t really have one,” he wondered out loud. He suddenly grinned once more, and he had a childish gleam to his eyes as he practically bobbled his head in excitement. “You should give me one!”

 

What.

 

“What?” She repeated, this time out loud. _What_?

 

Oh my god, she thought. This dragon was insane.

 

I’m going to die, she wailed inwardly.

 

“You should name me,” he said almost impatiently. “Geeze, pay attention, you weirdo.”

 

Lucy fumed, and ugh, if she was going to die, then she was going to die with this _dummy_ actually knowing her name! “It’s _Lucy_ , pinky!”

 

He actually gasped in offence. “I’m not pink! It’s _salmon_!”

 

She just couldn’t help but chortle at that. Because oh my god, she was at the hands of a dragon, and instead of being eaten, she was arguing with it because it was actually in denial about its own scale color. She relaxed, and laid against his hand, the scales warm and smooth against her skin.

 

Well, she thought.

 

Maybe he was a dragon, but he wasn’t going to kill her anytime soon. At least, she hoped.

 

“Fine, you’re salmon,” she relented, giggling when he grinned in triumph.

 

She thought for a moment, and said, “and I think I’ll name you Natsu.”

 

He tipped his head. “Natsu?”

 

She nodded and pointed up at the sky, where the stars shined brightly in the otherwise inky darkness of it, and she said, “today’s the last day of summer. It’s also the day I met a pink - sorry, _salmon_ \- dragon, and he didn’t eat me, for some reason. Natsu means summer.”

 

His chest rumbled, and after a second, she realized that he was purring. She almost giggled.

 

“I like it,” he declared.

 

And with a quick movement, he lowered his head down, snout moving closer to her chest and his eyes staring into hers - the sudden change startled her, but as she stared at him, she realized that his pupils, once mere slits, were now dilated and larger. They weren’t just dark, because when she looked closer, she could see little flecks of gold within them, flickering in time with the flame that she had nearly forgotten stood behind her.

 

“And I also like you,” he said quietly.

 

Her cheeks went bright pink at the bold statement.

 

He grinned widely, and nodded, as if agreeing with something. “Yup! I’ve decided.”

 

She swallowed. “Decided what?”

 

“That you’re mine!” He chirped, and he suddenly pushed the hand she was leaning into forward and up, successfully scooping her.

 

She shouted in fear at the height of everything, and clutched desperately onto a finger (finger? Oh, she didn’t know), careful to avoid the claw. “Natsu!” She yelled in both anger and shock. “Put me down!”

 

“Nope! You’re mine now, Luce.” The dragon grinned, and she squeaked when he started to spread his wings, air whooshing from the movement and putting out the fire that now seemed so tiny with how high up she was. “Means I can take you home! Don’t you wanna come with me?”

 

She gulped.

 

Princess Lucy Heartfilia was the epitome of a princess - beautiful, quiet, and graceful. She knew how to make people fall in love with her quiet charms, she knew the waltz and many types of other formal dances like the back of her hand, she had memorized every inch of her royal history and its people. She knew how to rule, how to be perfect, and how to be the heir to the throne.

 

Lucy hated it.

 

And right now, under the stars, in the almost cold night of the last day of summer, Lucy, not Princess Lucy Heartfilia of Fiore, was gazing up into the earnest eyes of a dragon as he claimed her for his. His gaze was far more truthful and genuine than anyone else’s, something she hadn’t seen in a long time. She could feel the warmth of his scales, of his claws that were curling slightly to prevent her from falling, and his grin was wide and dare she say it, beautiful.

 

He was a dragon but to her he had been far more human than anyone else she had ever met.

 

She was Lucy, at that moment. Lucy in her rather ruined under dress, her hair ragged and matted with sweat and dirt, her skin scratched and her gloves left behind.

 

She thought of her duties, and she thought of her personal staff, all of whom she came to love dearly, but she wouldn’t be missed, at least not truly. Her staff - _friends_ \- loved her as well, and would never forget her, but her father, her subjects?

 

She had many royal family members eagerly lining up for the throne.

 

She wouldn’t be missed.

 

So Lucy grinned back at this weird and kind pink dragon, left behind her crown and her title, and said, “okay!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> find me on tumblr at http://redyarns.tumblr.com/

When Lucy peeked a curious eye over where she sat on Natsu’s head, she was surprised to see how far up they were.

 

Nervously, she clutched onto one of his horns, admiring the rough texture against her hands for a moment before she wonders out loud, “my father is going to throw a fit when he realizes I’m gone.” She giggled at the thought.

 

“Too bad,” Natsu snorted, a puff of smoke emitting from his snout in a ring before disappearing into the wind. She hummed st the pleasant campfire smell. “You’re mine now. Your old man can’t take you away from me.”

 

“Erm,” Lucy said, face suspiciously warm from his statement. Geeze, he was kind of an idiot, but it still flustered her whenever he reminded her of his apparent claim over her. “Yeah, I guess. I just hope he doesn’t try to find me.”

 

Lucy let out a huff of air. “Well, either way, I don’t care. I’m not going back.” She laid down tentatively, humming at the warmth of his scales and tracing a finger carefully into the grooves of his horns. Little scratches and other imperfections adorned them, little dips here and there indicating that some parts had been chipped away. She thought they were still beautiful.

 

“Natsu,” she said, and she patted the scales underneath her appreciatively. “Thank you.”

 

She curled up, finding comfort in the heat that surrounded her, and just before she went to sleep, she thought she felt the rumble of a purr.

 

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

 

“ - y god you fucking _idiot_ , did you actually kidnap someone?”

 

“What! No! And get away from her, ice bastard!”

 

“The hell you just call me, flame brain?”

 

“ _Ice princess!_ ”

 

“ _Lizard ass!_ ”

 

The first thing that Lucy thought of when she woke up was that whoever was yelling sure had awful insults. Like seriously, they were all something little kids would yell at each other, and she let out a small giggle at the thought.

 

The second thing that came to her mind was that she was _so comfortable._  She stretched lazily like a cat, rolling over onto her side to cuddle even more into the soft comfiness of whatever she was laying on, only to come in contact with something a lot harder and warm.

 

She groped at it groggily, still refusing to open her eyes, not when it was this comfortable. Eventually, she just ended up rolling towards it until she was right up against the hard and heated thing, humming drowsily in pleasure.

 

“Shut _up,_ Gray!” One of the voices from before whispered harshly. “You’re gonna wake her up!”

 

Meanwhile, the other voice (Gray, apparently) was laughing loudly, and he choked out, “holy shit! Holy shit, flame ass, look at you, you’re fucking _cuddling!_ ”

 

“Gray - !”

 

“Why,” Lucy moaned, finally unable to keep pretending that she couldn’t hear the two idiots arguing. She cracked open an eye, and came face to face with a pale-skinned man with dark hair leaning over her, squinting at her face. His bare shoulders and torso also greeted her, and just as she was about to say something (like what _the hell_ are you doing), only to be cut off before she could start as there was a ruffling sound, and in only a matter of seconds, his pants came off and chucked somewhere carelessly.

 

She screamed.

 

“ _GRAY, PUT ON YOUR DAMN CLOTHES!_ ” Someone roared from behind her. As in literally _roared_. The sound was deep and animalistic, loud as heck, and also caused the scaled thing behind her to rumble with the deep noise.

 

She froze. Scaled?

 

“Aw, hell! When’d I lose them?” Gray whined, and scurried away in a hurry to find the aforementioned clothes.

 

“What a damn pervert,” Natsu huffed, his pupils slits and his nostrils puffing a good amount of deep gray smoke. He shook his head and snorted, causing the final tendrils of smoke to disappear before he leaned down, snout nudging Lucy’s shoulder carefully. “You okay, Luce?”

 

“Y-Yeah,” she squeaked, having finally realized that she was pressed up tightly to Natsu’s chest, and she cleared her throat to try and take attention away from the fact that she was so flustered. “He just startled me, that’s all.”

 

Carefully, she reached out and stroked his snout, finding the smooth yet at the same time rough texture of his scales fascinating. Natsu’s eyes half-closed, and he let out a rumble, the one that Lucy now recognized as a purr. She continued to stroke him, rubbing her thumb over any scratches or little bits of scales that were gone, and even scratching him a little underneath the chin.

 

“Wow, you’re like a cat, Natsu,” she said in wonder.

 

“‘M a dragon,” he merely said, voice heavy with both his purr and drowsiness. “Weirdo.”

 

She giggled, and was about to reply, but was interrupted as once again Gray approached them, this time with clothes on. Thank god.

 

“Natsu?” Gray repeated, eyes curious as he watched the tender moment between the two.

 

Face red, Lucy snatched her hand away from the dragon.

 

“What?” Natsu spat, eyes now snapping wide open as he glared at the dark haired man, evidently irritated by the fact that Lucy had stopped.

 

Gray frowned. “ _You’re_ Natsu?”

 

“Well, duh!”

 

Gray crossed his arms and said, “ _idiot._ You didn’t even have a name when you left! We just all kept calling you dragon boy. What the _hell_ , man?”

 

At this, Natsu grinned proudly, and once again prodded Lucy in the shoulder with his snout once more. “Lucy named me! Because we met on the last night of summer, and Natsu means summer. Right, Luce?”

 

“Right,” she muttered, and gave into his poking and continued stroking his snout.

 

“Huh,” was all Gray would say on the matter. He shoved his hands into his pockets, and said, “well, whatever. C’mon, flame ass. Erza wants to meet Lucy. Oh, uh - I haven’t really introduced myself, huh?”

 

His hand, which had then been rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, reached out to her in a way of welcoming a handshake. “Gray Fullbuster, prince of - “

 

“The snow fairies!” Natsu said a little too gleefully.

 

Gray gritted his teeth but tried to continue, and Lucy grabbed onto his hand with a wide grin on her face. “Prince of the Northern - “

 

“ _Ice princess_ ,” Natsu whispered, chest rumbling with giggles and his smile wide enough to showcase his many gleaming teeth.

 

“ _It’s prince of the Northern Mountains you freaking prick!_ ” Gray shouted, having finally snapped as he whipped his head to glare frostily at the dragon.

 

Natsu merely sneered back, and huffed out a ring of black smoke before growling, “same difference to me! And get your perverted hand off of Lucy!”

 

“ _What the hell did you just say?_ ”

 

“ _Come at me, snow bastard!_ ”

 

Lucy’s eyes widened as Gray made a sort of stance with his fist over his other open hand - the temperature dropped drastically, and she shivered, now remembering that she was still wearing only her simple (and now rather rumpled) under dress, and scooted closer to Natsu for warmth. She also gathered the many blankets surrounding them - she had apparently been sleeping on a huge pile of them and pillows - and huddled into them, teeth nearly chattering.

 

Natsu, seeing this, only got more enraged, and he shrieked, “look what you’ve done, snow freak! You’re making her cold! CUT IT OUT!”

 

Natsu roared, shaking the ground with the mere sound of it, his own temperature suddenly spiking up until Lucy was trapped between being freezing her butt off or getting a good few first degree burns.

 

“Why me,” she wailed to herself, but neither male even looked at her, too wrapped up in their evidently way too high testosterone levels.

 

Gray, not at all unfazed by both Natsu’s roar or the increase in heat, merely grunted, and the icy fog emitting from his hands increased ten-fold. “I’m gonna kick your ass, flame brain!”

 

“ _’d like to see you try, ice princess!_ ”

 

“ _Why you little_ \- “

 

“Dragon, Gray.”

 

The voice that suddenly spoke was dark and low, and was also heard clearly over Natsu’s loud growls and Gray’s equally loud shouting. Lucy scooted back away from Natsu, taking her blankets with her as she observed an incredibly pretty red-haired woman with the most dangerous eyes enter the room. Just her expression alone made Lucy shiver in fear. Her armor, detailed and gleaming brightly in the sunlight that streamed through the large window of the room, only added to the feeling of incredible strength that waved off of her.

 

“E-Erza,” Gray choked out as the temperatures, which had been fighting with blasts of hot and cold, suddenly evened out and it was the same as before.

 

“It’s the demon!” Natsu squeaked quietly, too quietly for this Erza lady to hear, and Lucy herself had to hold back a squeak. Demon? Like, an actual demon? Oh my god. She was going to die, and it was all Natsu and Gray’s fault! When she gets her hands on them…

 

“Were you two fighting?” Erza thundered, voice booming powerfully.

 

“EEK!” Natsu and Gray screamed, and the man and dragon scrambled together, Natsu’s snout pushing next to Gray’s shoulder as the man flung his arm around the said snout.

 

“N-No! We’re best friends!” They both shouted in absolute synchronization.

 

 _They became twins_ , Lucy thought to herself, a little horrified at the rather pitiful display, but she was having a hard time not doubling over and laughing her heart out.

 

For a moment, Erza looked like she didn’t believe them, squinting at them both with narrow and sharp eyes. They both sweated nervously, until finally she nodded and said in a serious voice, “ah, I see. You are doing well in keeping your relationship so close and bonded. After all, friendship should be held highly.”

 

“Bastard,” Gray snarled quietly, pushing against Natsu’s snout and Erza’s passionate words flying right out of his head.

 

“Asshole,” Natsu hissed back, his voice just as low.

 

Lucy, who could hear them both, couldn’t help but laugh. It was ridiculous, really - just yesterday, she had been the princess of Fiore, on her way to meet her betrothed so she could successfully take over her father’s throne and rule the kingdom. Now, she was here, watching a dragon and a man argue against each other while trying not to let a woman overhear them. It was too amusing for her to not laugh at.

 

“You are Lucy?”

 

Lucy’s laughter trailed off, and she looked up to see the (rather terrifying) presence of Erza above her, legs apart and her arms crossed, the stance only adding to her look of power. She squeaked. “Y-Yes! I’m Lucy!”

 

Erza nodded. “I am Erza Scarlet, the knight of this castle. We will be great friends, you and I. Come!”

 

Lucy squawked as Erza’s metal-clad arm suddenly shot out and wrapped around Lucy’s neck, and her head crashed into Erza’s chest-plate, the impact giving her a good few seconds of dizziness as the red-haired woman turned to look at a steadily getting louder Gray and Natsu, still holding onto Lucy.

 

“Dragon! Gray!”

 

The dragon stopped in the midst of biting at Gray, while the man barely managed to stop himself from punching him in the snout.

 

“My name’s Natsu!” Natsu whined, and his claw tapped nervously on the stone floor as he eyed Lucy in Erza’s grasp with both fear and worry. “Luce named me.”

 

Sensing that he wanted to intervene but also didn’t want to be pummeled by Erza (seriously, Lucy only just met her but she bet the other woman could kick down a good few mountains without breaking a sweat), Lucy managed a smile somehow and a weak thumbs-up.

 

“Natsu,” Erza tested, the name rolling off of her tongue. She nodded seriously once more. “That is sufficient. Indeed, you and Lucy have a strong bond. I commend you on your friendship!”

 

Natsu shrieked when Erza slapped him on the wrist as a sign of congratulations, the ‘friendly’ tap feeling more like a punch.

 

“Now, hurry up!” She barked, her sparkly and motherly tone immediately giving away to something that reminded Lucy of a general or other commanding force. “The others are eager to meet our new friend. Gray, _PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON!_ How dare you besmirch dear Lucy’s innocent virtue? I will tear you to pieces!”

 

“STOP BEING A PERVERT TO LUCY, YOU BASTARD!” Natsu roared.

 

“A-Aye!” Gray screamed, his skin even paler than normal as he frantically looked around for his shirt and pants, both of which had been lost at some point in time.

 

“Oh god,” Lucy whispered into Erza’s chestplate, as the side of her face was still smooshed into the metal. “You guys are weird.”

 

But she eyed them with fondness, and she couldn’t help herself as her gaze lingered on Natsu. She smiled, and thought of the warmth of his scales pressed against her, his cheery voice, and how protective her was over her. God, they met not even twenty-four hours ago, and she already thought of him as someone precious to her.

 

Maybe even Gray and Erza as well, she mused.

 

They were all strange in their own right - Natsu was literally a giant pink dragon who could talk, Gray’s stripping habit was evidently a problem, and Erza was… was quite terrifying, actually.

 

But she was here. She was there, standing in a ruffled under dress, her hair mussed and her face probably even more so, but they didn’t even look at her twice because they liked her. They didn’t see her as the princess or anything, because she was just Lucy.

 

It was _goddamn amazing._

 

“NATSU! GRAY!” Erza shouted, her patience (which was quite short to begin with) snapping as she gently - she even patted Lucy’s head - set Lucy down to the side. Out of nowhere, swords appeared in both of her hands, and she charged at the two. “ _I SAID_ **_NO FIGHTING!_** ”

 

“EEK!”

 

“LUCE! HELP!”

 

Lucy laughed, chortling so hard that she nearly choked, and oh my god, she thought, they were crazy. They were crazy and weird and she _loved it_ , because she was crazy and weird too for loving them because of it.

 

“There,” Erza stated, dusting her hands in satisfaction as she observed the bruised masses of a naked (holy god, Lucy was definitely not innocent anymore, _why_ ) man and an equally bruised pink dragon beside him.

 

“Silly Natsu,” Lucy hummed, and she walked forward to gently stroke his snout. “You shouldn’t have fought with Gray.”

 

Weakly, he began to purr, and little puffs of light grey smoke poured from his nostrils, evidently pleased by her affection. “I’m the strongest. Ice princess can’t beat me, right, Luce? Did ya see me? I was roasting his pasty ass.”

 

“Why you…” Gray groaned from beside them. He raised a shaky hand and flipped off Natsu, causing Lucy to snort with laughter. “I’m gonna get you for that you lizard bastard. Just you wait.”

 

Natsu’s purr only grew louder, and he nudged his snout closer to Lucy, and she giggled before petting him more heavily, stroking along the lines of his scales and finding them to be utterly mesmerizing. She knew dragons were supposed to be beastly, and Natsu definitely was - she could still hear that earth-shattering roar of his, and there was definitely nothing human about his body.

 

But he was still so beautiful. His scales were glossy and gleamed in the light, and gis eyes danced with his inner fire as they looked at her with dilated pupils. Once again, she could see the flecks of gold within the darkness of them, and they spoke of mischievousness and also genuinity.

 

Her face went pink at the thought.

 

(Secretly, she already liked him a lot better than any man her father had ever forced her to meet.)

 

“I like my name,” Natsu said softly, and his jaw just barely unhinged to say this.

 

His voice was uncharacteristically soft, and she smoothed her small hand across her snout one last time before saying, “me too. Thank you for bringing me here, Natsu.”

 

The dragon grinned.

 

“Hey, where’re my pets!” Gray demanded. “I fought Erza too!”

 

“ _What was that, ice prick?_ ”

 

“ _Come at me, dragon breath!_ ”

 

“ _Watch me as I pummel this guy, Luce -_ “

 

“I WILL HACK YOU TWO TO PIECES!”

 

“AAACK!”

 

“WAH! ERZA’S GONNA EAT ME! SAVE ME, LUCE!”

 

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

 

The castle, as it turned out, was far more grand than Lucy would have imagined. Its bricks were sturdy but worn, ivy crawling up the sides and some even blooming little flowers in the sunlight. It was falling apart in some places, like the room with no roof that Natsu claimed to be his favorite spot since it gave him so much room to move around in, and in other places, the walls were reinforced and rebuilt so many times that they were crooked and obviously made of a different material than the original build.

 

It was also full to the brim with noise.

 

“OI! SO YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE ME, SALAMANDER?”

 

“I’M GONNA WIPE THE FLOOR WITH YOUR ASS, METALHEAD! LUCY! LUCY COME WATCH ME BEAT THIS GUY UP!”

 

“Wow,” said the petite blue-haired girl that sat beside a gobsmacked Lucy as she watched the chaos around her. The bluenette didn’t even seem bothered, not reacting to the action as she grinned up at Lucy. “Dragon really likes you, huh, Lucy? I mean he always fights but he’s blatantly showing off for you.”

 

“O-Oh!” Lucy, caught off guard, fumbled for her words with a pink face. She fidgeted with the fabric of her under dress. “Thank you? I mean, he’s been really sweet so far. I really like him. Also, his name’s Natsu now - he said I should name him, so - “

 

“Wow!” The bluenette repeated, this time her face positively beaming. Lucy blinked as she realized that the girl’s hair was literally glowing blue by this point. “You got to name him! Natsu… Oh, I see! Yesterday was the last day of summer, which he said was when you guys met. Oh, Lucy! How _romantic!_ ”

 

“No, not romantic!” Lucy hissed, eyes wide and face definitely red by now. Quickly, she tried to find a way out of the conversation, so she said, “you hair’s glowing!”

 

“Ugh, I hate it when it does that,” the bluenette groaned, combing her small and dainty hand through the strands of luminescent blue. “Whenever I get too emotional it always lights up. And also, I just remembered, by I never really introduced myself!”

 

The bluenette smiled once more, the color of her hair lighting up even brighter. “I’m Levy McGarden, a pixie! I mean I guess you can guess with my height and everything, being this short is definitely not a blessing. I’ll point to people and let you know their names and what they are. Look, over there is Gray, who you already met. He’s actually a snow nymph, even though nymphs are usually women.”

 

“Ah, I see.” Lucy nodded thoughtfully. In truth, she still couldn’t wrap her head around the thought that pixies and nymphs existed, but then again dragons were real, so why not? “Oh god, where’d his shirt go?”

 

“He always does that, though I’m not sure why,” Levy pondered. “Over there fighting Natsu is Gajeel, another dragon. He actually can’t breathe fire, because he’s an iron dragon - I think classified as _Draconicus Metalina._ Anyway, he seems grumpy at first, but he’s a big softy on the inside.”

 

Levy patted Lucy’s knee before continuing. “That’s Erza, who you also already met. She’s an odd one, even in this bunch - she’s half-demon and half-fairy. She loves strawberry cake, by the way, so if you ever need to get on her good side just give her a slice and she’ll forget everything else. Comes from her fairy side, has a massive sugar tooth because of it.”

 

So on and on Levy continued, giving a detailed explanation of who and what everyone was. It was utterly fascinating to Lucy, who clung onto every word and continuously asked numerous questions on everything. _Why is that blue cat talking? Who’s that pretty girl with white hair? Is Gajeel eating that frying pan?_

 

Levy was completely patient with her, her hair even glowing with enthusiasm at all of Lucy’s questions.

 

“We don’t come in contact with too many people outside of home,” Levy said as a reply to Lucy as to why she was so excited by the interrogation. “And not a lot of people are willing to understand us, so we don’t bother leaving. Natsu’s really the only one who goes out to see humans. He claims that he likes scaring them, though honestly I think he finds them interesting.”

 

“Huh,” Lucy pondered, staring as the pink dragon once again roared a blast of fire at Gajeel, who merely blocked it with a shiny looking wing and then blasted his own roar of metal back. The table shook from the force of the blows, yet no one seemed to notice or even care. “I have another question, Levy.”

 

“Of course, Lucy!” Levy smiled. “What is it?”

 

“Is something wrong with Natsu?” She asked. She raked her eyes over Natsu’s face, at his slits for pupils and the fierce grin that showed his fangs. His tail, powerful with muscles, slammed at Gajeel’s legs, who only let out a rough “gihi" before whacking his own tail at the other dragon. “I mean, not like that! He’s wonderful, really. He’s so sweet and kind, and…”

 

Lucy trailed off at Levy’s smug smirk and at the heat rushing to her cheeks. She coughed, and continued. “Anyway. Isn’t he too human? I’ve heard so many stories about dragons killing humans, or kidnapping them to demand for gold. I know physically he’s definitely a dragon, but…”

 

Lucy’s gaze trailed up to admire Natsu’s face, at his fiery determination, but also the barks of goofy laughter from the occasional hit  Gajeel landed on him. “His eyes and his emotions, aren’t they too humane?”

 

There was silence.

 

Then the rustle of someone shifting in their seat, and a sigh.

 

“Oh, Lucy… you really are smart,” Levy chided gently, but her lips were tugging down in a slight frown, and she too stared as the two dragons wrestled for dominance against the castle grounds, dusting up quite a bit of dirt. “Yes, you’re right. You know, we have another dragon too, her name’s Wendy. She, Gajeel and Natsu… they all share the same fate.”

 

“Same - ?”

 

“A curse, Lucy.” Levy’s frown deepened, and she shook her head in sympathy.

 

“They’re cursed to be dragons forever.”


	3. Chapter 3

Natsu had a simple-tracked mind. Sure, he could be smart if he wanted to - after all, he’d had to learn how to fly, and learning all those equations and facts about air and how the winds could affect his flight pattern were a pain in the ass, but he’d done with with somewhat ease. He knew he had a good amount of brains, but he just didn’t bother showing it, because he didn’t really care.

 

In his mind, he was divided by two simple things: things that belonged to him and things that didn’t.

 

Like Levy - wasn’t his. (Gajeel would claw his eyes out otherwise.)

 

Erza’s cake wasn’t his. She’d kill him if he even dared.

 

That gold, his.

 

Happy, his.

 

Lucy, his.

 

His name, his.

 

Natsu didn’t always used to think like this. Well, kind of - he’d always been of a dunce (aforementioned brains having never been taken seriously by him), and he always was a hothead, but that absolute _need_ to claim things was like the fire burning deep in his belly. It called to him and made him do things impulsively, like the time he hoarded all of Erza’s swords once and got a good beating for it, or the other time when he obsessively collected every smooth rock he could find and dumped them into his pile of goodies.

 

It led him to Lucy, who was pretty and smelled good and gave him the best snout rubs of all time.

 

He liked her, how deep her eyes could be, how her hair was so golden and shiny in the light of his fire, how he looked at him with a beautiful smile and happily declared him as Natsu after the day which they met.

 

He knew now that last summer night would be something he’d never forget.

 

Natsu purred as Lucy, who was sitting beside him, continued gently running her hand up and down the scales of his snout, giggling at the increasing vibrations from his chest.

 

Today was a good day, maybe even the best day. When he had guided her to the rest of the castle, he had expected a few cringes or even little looks of indignation. He wouldn’t have been offended if she did, because in all honesty he understood. His family, despite how loving they were, also tended to rough house with each other far more than other close knit friends, and could also sometimes even be perverted idiots.

 

But Lucy didn’t even care. She gasped at Gray’s stripping habit, but instead of slapping him (as a lot of other people did), she had laughed and even threw a shirt at his face when he couldn’t find his. She kept saying that Erza was the prettiest girl she’d ever seen, causing the redhead to flush as bright as her hair before declaring Lucy as her best friend and tugging her in for another one of her ‘hugs’. (Which, by the way, still made Natsu feel wholly uncomfortable. Just the thought of someone else touching Lucy made the skin under his scales itch, but it he could just barely hold back his reactions out of fear of Erza’s punishment if he said anything.)

 

Lucy greeted Gajeel warmly (Natsu was gonna pummel him later for calling her tits huge), drank merrily with Cana, and even shyly greeted Laxus, who was the guild’s constant grumpy-faced party pooper.

 

Natsu was filled with pride.

 

That’s right, he thought. This was Lucy. Kind and loving and _all his._

 

“Lushi,” he cooed, rubbing the tip of his snout into her tummy.

 

She laughed and gazed at him with fond eyes.

 

It was even better when he had her attention - he had been extremely pleased when a few hours ago during his fight with Gajeel, she had tutted at Natsu and walked with him back to his room to take care of his minor wounds and let him rest. He was even more pleased at how she teasingly praised him over his win in the fight, even though Gajeel insists he lost _shutupmetalhead._

 

He liked that he could show off how strong he was to her, how he could protect her.

 

“Natsu,” Lucy called, and he blinked lazily up at her, Her eyes, the ones that were deep and brown and so _pretty_ , were boring into his own. Her messy golden hair tumbled down her shoulders, and vaguely - through the muddle of his mind, oh my god she was _so freaking pretty_ \- he realized he’d have to get her some new clothes eventually, nand not let her wear just that skimpy under dress. Just the thought of some pervert (and there were a _lot_ in the castle of Fairy Tail) ogling her was enough for him to flex his claws menacingly.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were cursed?”

 

He accidentally snorted a large puff of smoke, the color a deep gray of shock, and his tail thumped against the wall a little. He stared at her with wide eyes, but her gaze was firm, her touch never pausing its stroking against his snout. She was definitely not gonna let this go.

 

So he slumped, defeated, and mumbled, “I dunno. It’s not like it’s important.”

 

“Of _course_ it’s important!”

 

Natsu nearly jumped out of his scales at the sudden shout, his sensitive ears pricking up and back out of shock as he lifted his head to stare wide-eyed at a suddenly furious Lucy with a red face.

 

“You _idiot_ , how can you say that? Oh my god, Natsu, you’re cursed and you’re acting like it doesn’t matter! Why would you say that? Don’t you want to break it?” Her voice was high-pitched in her irritation, her pretty features twisted into an equally pretty frown, her brown eyes sparking with anger while she fumed.

 

“I _do_ want to break it,” he finally managed to spit out after staring for a little too long. “But I’ve been like this for a long time, Luce. If I could’ve broken it I would’ve done it ages ago.”

 

He shrugged, and though he tried to seem nonchalant, it ached deep inside him. Sometimes, he could remember what it was like to not be like this - how he had hands instead of claws, his skin a smooth tan, his voice clear of any growl or purr. He’d been free to hug and play with anyone else, with no fear of accidentally crushing them or burning them to a crisp.

 

He knew the whole curse wasn’t his fault - it wasn’t Gajeel or Wendy’s fault, either. It was just desperation to fix the situation at the time, when they had no choice.

 

“I can’t break it, Lucy,” Natsu said in a tiny voice. “I tried a long time ago, but when I found out what I had to do in order to reverse the magic, I just stopped. It’s not worth it.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“It’s not worth it,” he repeated, and he flexed his claws gently, the wickedly sharp and long appendages shining in the softening glow of the sunlight as the sun started to sink in the horizon, streaming its pink and orange rays into the tall room through the large windows.

 

A small hand, dainty and fragile and human, rested on one of his claws. He stared at it as she gently caressed his claw, running her hand down until it was right on top of his, his scales warming underneath her small touch.

 

She must have sensed his refusal to go deeper, so she said softly, “do you want me to tell you a bedtime story?”

 

He hadn’t had a bedtime story since he was little. He was a big and fierce dragon who could tear this little human to shreds with a mere flick of his wrist, he could crush her bones with only the slightest strength from his tail, he could burn her to cinders with only a small breath. But he would never, because she was Lucy, the human who gave him a name and who he met just yesterday but also the human who he knew he had to desperately protect.

 

Dragons were selfish creatures, he remembered Levy once telling him as she read from a book. Greedy and with a habit of hoarding things. They got attached quickly, which could be both their advantage and also their weakness.

 

Natsu loved everyone in the rambunctious and wild castle of Fairy Tail, all of them crazy and weird and a good chunk of whom could kick his ass.

 

But he didn’t find any of them as fascinating as Lucy, the little blond who was too fragile and magic-less and weird, who was also the only person he ever claimed as his.

 

If anyone else had offered him a bedtime story, he would’ve laughed his ass off before setting their hair on fire because he was a grown-up, dammit, he didn’t need someone to watch over him while he slept!

 

But it was Lucy.

 

“Okay,” he grinned, and eagerly got into a resting position, lying flat on his stomach before patting the space between his arms.

 

She flushed but climbed over his scales and settled down onto the pile of blankets and pillows he acquired (stole, don’t ever tell Erza) over the years, snuggling into his body heat.

 

He nuzzled the top of her hair with the tip of his snout gently, her sweet scent making his chest rumble with a purr.

 

“Hey Lucy,” he murmured.

 

“Hm?”

 

“Why didn’t you tell anyone you’re a princess?”

 

She paused in her fiddling to lie down and stared up at him with wide eyes. “You know?”

 

He looked at her strangely and said, “of course I know, you weirdo. You smell like silk, which I know humans find expensive and hard to buy for some weird reason. You also smell different from other people, they all carry that scent of dirt and sweat but you don’t. And you’re too pretty to be anything but a princess.”

 

Ah, shit.

 

His body temperature rose, and he knew that underneath his scales he was flushing horrendously. He shouldn’t have said that last bit - it’d been an afterthought, something he had tacked on curiously, but the embarrassment he felt was seriously not worth it.

 

Though to be fair, Lucy didn’t seem much better, his sensitive hearing picking up on her rapid heartbeat and rapid intake of air. Her face was adorably (adorably - he hadn’t thought of anyone as _adorable_ before) pink, almost the shade of his rosy scales, her embarrassment maybe even greater than his.

 

“I-It’s just - “ she squeaked, before clearing her throat to dislodge the higher pitch of her voice. She twisted her hands into a blanket, and continued. “I like it here. Back at the castle, father was never kind to me, especially since mother passed away. I was weighted with a crown that I never wanted, and I was actually on my way to meet my betrothed before I came to you.”

 

She laid a gentle hand on his chest when he growled lowly at the thought of someone else touching Lucy. “It’s okay, Natsu. Anyway, whenever I went to the villages or cities, it was always Princess Lucy or her highness or the future queen. I hated it.”

 

She sighed and shook her head, and gently stroked his scales. “But here, it’s just me, just Lucy. Not Lucky Lucy, or Princess Lucy Heartfilia of Fiore. I don’t have to worry about leading my people or disappointing my father. I just…”

 

Lucy curled up against his chest, her body small and delicate, her hair like golden rivers flowing across his rosy scales. Her voice was quiet as she said, “I want to stay with you. It’s more fun when we’re together.”

 

Natsu tried hard to swallow the sudden lump in his throat as she said that. Oh god, he thought. She was going to kill him. Her words were almost too much for him to handle, and it was _fucking crazy_ , he thought. This human who he only knew for, what, twenty-four hours, was suddenly so important to him for some whatever reason he couldn’t really name.

 

“Yeah, Luce,” he croaked, throat still clogged with his emotions. “Don’t worry, you’ll always be with me. I’ll burn anyone who tries to take you away. I’ll always protect you.”

 

She smiled at him.

 

He grinned back.

 

Then she cleared her throat, and said, “do you want to hear your story now?”

 

“Yeah! Go ahead, Luce.” He beamed, and lied his head to the side, his neck pushing gently into her body as she began to speak.

 

“Once upon a time, a lonely star fell from the heavens. She was scared and hurt, but she knew that it didn’t matter - the shooting star would die as soon as she hit the land below, something she’d never seen or touched before. But just as she was about to finally descend fully, arms wrapped around her and she looked to see that a demon had saved her.”

 

“‘A demon!’ She said. ‘You’re supposed to be heartless. Why did you save me?’ He replied, ‘stars are supposed to stay in the heavens forever. Why did you fall?’ And she didn’t answer, so he didn’t answer hers. The star stayed with the demon, because she didn’t know anything about the land down below, and he protected her no matter what danger or backlash they faced. ‘You should have killed her and eaten her soul!’ The other demons roared. ‘You could have become a god!’”

 

“‘Why didn’t you take my soul,’ the star said to the demon. ‘They are right. You could be a being of unimaginable power, you could rule both this land and the heavens.’ ‘It would have killed you,’ he replied. She said, ‘why does that matter?’ ‘You are an imbecile,’ he merely said.”

 

“A long time passed, and eventually, these two lonely hearts came to love each other. They gave each other hopes and dreams, and a future that they wanted to have together. The other demons, however, began to grow restless as this time passed. They wanted the star for themselves, to take her soul and become a deity. So they attacked one night when they were sleeping, and the demon awoke in time to see the other beings reach for the star. He roared and protected her with his own body. No matter how much she screamed and begged for him to stop and move out of the way, he did not, and when the other demons finally grew exhausted from their purge, they went away.”

 

“‘Oh, my heart aches,’ the star sobbed as she cradled the dying demon in her arms. ‘I wish I could save you. I wish I could give my life for yours.’ And then she had a thought. Her soul. She could give him her soul, and he could live - that was all she wanted, because she loved him so much that she didn’t care if she died. So she began the spell, and when her soul, bright and untainted and beautiful met his own tarnished and dark one, she immediately collapsed as the demon woke.”

 

“‘You foolish girl,’ he cried out. ‘Look what you have done! My blackened soul is worth nothing compared to yours. Why did you do this?’ ‘They say feelings can reach another through the simplest of actions and the plainest of words,’ she said. ‘I hope that you know my heart rests in your hands.’”

 

“‘I fell because I thought the lands below were beautiful,” she whispered to him. ‘I fell because it was forbidden to think that way.’ ‘I caught you because I thought you were beautiful,’ he cried. ‘You are beautiful. My beautiful star.’ She died in his arms, her remains turning into stardust, which he took and scattered across the lands. He lived for many years, because her soul and heart lived within him, pushing him to keep living and survive. But he never forgot the star that fell from the heavens, and he never forgot her smile, which he thought had been beautiful.”

 

A gentle snore.

 

“Natsu?”

 

The dragon snuggled closely to Lucy, his body heat enveloping her. She laughed gently at the small drips of tears she saw clinging to the outer edges of his closed eyes. What a sap.

 

“They lived happily ever after when the demon became one with the earth, reunited with the fallen star. The end,” she finished, and patted Natsu’s head.

 

“Goodnight, Natsu.”

 

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

 

Erza looked up to stare at the tall tower that spiraled up to the sky on the west wing of the old and worn castle. She could see through the window the shadows of a dragon and a small human, both moving closer until the shapes melted together from their closeness.

 

She smiled and walked back inside, easily moving around and over her comrades who were all either drunkenly passed out or knocked unconscious due to the day’s recent party. It’d been a celebration for all of them when Natsu had returned, and an even bigger celebration at the fact that he brought yet another family member for them to love and cherish.

 

Erza felt warmth in her heart as she observed the messy hall. It had been a good day.

 

“Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Dragon like this,” a voice sighed from behind her, and the half-fairy turned to see Mirajane, a full-fledged demon unlike Erza.

 

“Yes,” Erza nodded as she sat down at a stool and eagerly accepted the plate of strawberry cake that Mira cheerfully slid towards her. “Lucy is a good person for him. He even let her name him, and is now demanding to be called Natsu. She named him after the fact that they met on the last day of summer.”

 

“Ah,” Mira sighed again, this time dreamily. “That’s so romantic. Who knew Natsu would bring home someone so sensitive and sweet! And someone so pretty, too.”

 

There was a comfortable silence, only broken by the occasional snore of someone passed out nearby, or the gentle clinking of Erza’s fork against the plate as she ate.

 

“I heard Levy talking to her,” Mira said in a sudden change of tone. It was more somber, and she tucked a lock of white hair behind her ear before saying, “about Natsu and the others.”

 

Erza paused. “The curse?”

 

Mira nodded, and her blue eyes were dark with remembrance of something from a long time ago, her voice soft and almost shaky. “I wonder if Natsu told her everything.”

 

Erza peered at her, and her heart softened at the unusually upset Mira, who was always the happy and cheerful one despite the situation. Her metal-clad hand gently gripped Mira’s in a comforting manner, and she said, “maybe, maybe not. But they’re close, far closer than I would have imagined after spending such a short time together. Cheer up, Mirajane. Now is not the time to be sad - we have to think about Lucy, who I’m sure will be a wonderful addition here.”

 

Mira gave one last sniffle before smiling at the red-haired woman. “Right as ever, Erza.” She slid over yet another slice of cake, and laughed at the half-fairy’s overly gleeful expression before Mira’s face twisted into a smirk, far more in character with her demon blood. “Now tell me, Erza. How is dear Jellal?”

 

“J-Jellal?”

 

Mira couldn’t stop grinning at Erza’s face, which became even redder than her hair. “You know, our favorite fallen angel? Handsome, blue hair, tattoo on his right cheek? Oh - that flustered? Are you hiding something? Is my ship finally canon? I haven’t seen him around much lately, maybe you stashed him away in your bed - ”

  
“ _Mirajane!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come scream with me on tumblr!
> 
> http://redyarns.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> updates are sporadic. follow me on tumblr for previews and such!
> 
> http://redyarns.tumblr.com/


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